How to use a "virtual webcam" with Google+ Hangouts
I was finally able to find the proper software to build a "virtual webcam" that actually works in Google+ Hangouts.
I had been wanting to stream my World of Warcraft screen as my "webcam" in my Google+ Hangouts and after fumbling through quite a few possibilities I've found that the (apparently) free "ManyCam" software (http://www.manycam.com/) allows me to select part of my desktop as my webcam. It works perfectly for what I was wanting and actually has many cool features I didn't even know I needed.
I won't go into too many gritty details but once you've downloaded and installed the software you will want to select the "Sources" tab in ManyCam.
Select "Desktop" from the sources list and then "Custom Desktop". This gives you a nice selection box which you drag over the area you'd like shared (my windowed World of Warcraft screen in my case) and press "OK" in the upper left of the overlay to select it.
You should now have that part of your desktop as your source. One thing to note here is that if you are broadcasting a game like I am you want to set the "Update rate" to a smaller (lower number) setting to get a faster refresh rate. It seems a little unintuitive that "0" would be faster than "100" but I think the numbers indicate a lower amount of time time between refreshes.
Once you have that set up start your Google+ Hangout and choose "Settings" from the Hangout window then select "ManyCam Virtual Webcam" in the "Camera" dropdown and press Save. It doesn't seem to show the ManyCam feed in the settings window but once you save it it should show your ManyCam image in the "Check your hair..." window before you start your Hangout.
As someone who blogs about World of Warcraft (http://www.powerwordgold.net) I was excited to be able to hangout with my readers and them be able to see what I was doing in game live.
The quality of my video (in the Hangout itself, in the ManyCam it looked fine) wasn't stellar but you could still at least see what I was doing.
If you've been looking for a functional way to make a virtual webcam for use with Googlw+ Hangouts I suggest giving ManyCam a try.
As a side note ManyCam has a ton of fun features that I had a blast playing with. For some (slightly sacrilegious) fun try adding an American Flag (found under Effect>Objects>Flags) and then add the Fire effect (found under Effects>Effects>Dynamic>Fire). Doing this gave me many many luls.
You can download if for free here: http://www.manycam.com/
